Print the recipe card!  pantry clam chowder

Finding a good clam chowder recipe that uses only food storage ingredients was harder than you’d think it would be.  Finally, after many recipes tried, this was the best one (by far) that we tasted.  I’d happily serve this to company, so with that it’s earned a spot in my cookbook.

It’s adapted from the “Quick Pantry Clam Chowder” recipe found in March 1998’s Cook’s Illustrated magazine.  Not only is it a really fast (1o minute) meal to put together, as far as clam chowder goes it tastes just right.  Enjoy!

serves 6 (about 2 quarts)

Prep time:  10 minutes

Ingredients:

1 (2.8 oz) jar Hormel Real Bacon Pieces

1 cup freeze dried white onion flakes (*see note)

1 cup water

4 TBS. flour

2 (8 oz.) bottles clam juice

4 (6.5 oz.) cans minced clams

1 cup water

2 (14.5 oz) cans whole potatoes (*see note)

1 large Bay leaf

1/4 tsp. dried thyme

1 (12 oz.) can evaporated milk (*see note)

salt and ground pepper to taste

Instructions:

Rehydrate onion flakes using 1 cup water.  While waiting for onions, drain the potatoes and chop coarse according to desired size.  In a medium heated pot, saute the bacon pieces while stirring for one minute and then add the drained rehydrated onion.  Add 4 TBS flour, stirring to mix.  Whisk in clam juice, reserved clam juice from clams and water.  Add chopped potatoes, bay leaf and thyme;  stir to combine and bring to a simmer.  Finally add clams, evaporated milk , salt/pepper (if needed, to taste) and bring to a simmer.  Remove from heat and serve.

Serve with some fresh bread or crackers.   Delicious!

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Notes:  

• It’s been surprising to some in the past when I’ve used a full cup of freeze dried onion flakes in certain recipes. While I don’t use this much usually, it’s important to differentiate that I’m using freeze dried onion flakes here, not dried minced onion, which would be a lot more potent since it’s more densely packed. The original recipe for this soup called for 2 cups chopped onion. Even after rehydrating the onion here it still doesn’t measure 2 cups and (in our opinion atleast) the end result doesn’t end up too onion-ey.

• As far as potatoes go, you could probably substitute freeze dried potato chunks if you wanted to.  My preference is to go with the canned whole potatoes because  #1, it’s nice to have larger chunks of potatoes in a chowder style soup and #2 these potatoes don’t seem to disintegrate in the chowder like the freeze dried chunks do.

• When choosing an evaporated milk to use keep in mind that the milk is replacing cream in the original recipe. Carnation brand’s Vitamin D milk contains 2 grams of fat, the most “cream-y” I’ve found, so that’s what I used here. I’ve been told there’s actually shelf stable cream sold by Gossner’s Milk Company but I haven’t tried it yet.

In my book this recipe is used as a:

*Long Term Recipe

*3 month meal (using fresh potatoes and onions)

*Pantry Meal